UK-based company 3D Laser Mapping has revealed that mining company Anglo Platinum has used one of its Riegl LPM-321 laser scanning systems to improve safety and increase production in its South African mine. The latest system supplied by 3D Laser Mapping is being used in the Mogalakwena Central Open Pit for continuous monitoring of the Western Highwall. Since installation, the laser monitoring systems have contributed toward the best four-month period of safety across all of the mining company’s operations. The laser scanning system combines a highly accurate, long-range laser scanner with monitoring software specially developed for the mining environment.
The latest generation Riegl LPM-321 laser scanner supplied by 3D Laser Mapping combines exceptional field performance with accuracies of up to 25mm at ranges of 6km. It measures at a rate of up to 1,000 points per second with a 360-degree field of view and combines laser measurements with imagery from a mounted high-resolution digital SLR camera.
'Laser scanning is an essential tool for our surveying operations,' commented Frans Benadé, section surveyor at Anglo Platinum. 'It enables us to remotely identify, measure and monitor inaccessible pit and dump slopes together with stockpiles, blast profiles and geological features. It is also used for the measuring of as-built construction. This latest addition to our laser scanning portfolio will be used for the continuous monitoring of the Western Highwall of the open pit at Mogalakwena,' continued Benadé. 'An existing scanner has already indicated some movements along the East Wall so the addition of this system will enable the Geotechnical Engineer to monitor the behaviour of the entire area.'
Anglo Platinum is the world’s largest primary producer of platinum with an ambitious expansion programme in place to increase production capacity by 5 per cent to meet growth in global demand. Safety is a paramount concern for the company whose operation comprises of 11 mines, 6 joint ventures, 20 concentrators, 3 smelters, a base metals refinery and a precious metals refinery. Anglo Platinum is already using a number of laser-monitoring solutions from 3D Laser Mapping to improve safety, increase production and achieve cost savings.
